Harry Potter And The Sorcerer's Stone Sociological Analysis

Modern day films have been suspect to cleverly and indirectly create films that showcase the concepts and theories of famous sociologists from many years ago. The film Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone is one example of a modern day film that executes theories from the popular sociologist, Emile Durkheim. The core of this paper will be exploring how the theories of Emilie Durkheim are executed in the film Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone. This paper will mainly be connecting Durkheim’s ideas of social solidarity and collective consciousness with the movie. There are three symbols in this movie that create a group identity and that is: the wand, the sorting hat, and the quidditch game. These symbols and rituals exemplify the various …show more content…
The first thing Harry does to become a “great” wizard is go shopping for his very own wand. Shopping for a wand is a typical symbol that takes place for a wizard, and this act creates an organic social solidarity. After Harry leaves the mortal world and goes off to Hogwarts the school of wizardry and witchcraft, he quickly befriends Hermione Granger and Ron Weasley on the train ride. Once they arrive at Hogwarts the new wizards are sorted by the witch hat into which “house” they will be a part of for the rest of their time being enrolled at the school. The sorting hat is both a symbol and ritual that creates a collective consciousness within Hogwarts. Harry, Hermione, and Ron are all sorted into Gryffindor, which is the house known for bravery. Later Harry joins the quidditch team and becomes the “seeker” on the team, which is a big deal because normally freshmen do not make the team; thus subtly proving he is meant to be a “great” wizard. Quidditch is a game that can be seen as a ritual that produces a social solidarity. These three symbols and rituals tie perfectly into creating both a collective consciousness and social solidarity in the Wizardry world, which superbly reflects Durkheim’s